Linkbar

Pistachio Macarons...A Family Affair

August 6, 2007

It is always a blessing to have family visits. My parents come regularly, so much so that my produce guy often asks me about them and when they will visit next and they are almost on a first name basis with the mail man! I am surprised that only my brother and his family and my cousin in Savoie are the only ones who also made the trip, with all these paid vacations it should be a no brainer for the others to come visit their "favorite" cousin (cough, cough...) and discover a part of the world they do not know. So having Sophie around is absolutely fantastic on very many different levels. I get to talk about the family, speak French and laugh at the simple words I cannot find easily anymore. When I left she was 7-8 years old, so I also get the chance to discover a maturing young woman full of questions, hope, incertainties and love for life.

I also like having visitors as I can show them this country like they have never seen it before, far away from images of huge skyscrapers, bright neon signs and fast food joints. Ok, so we went to Krispy Kremes, but come on folks! that is a mandatory on the list of culinary treats I have to educate her palate about. Charleston is rich in history, landscape and native animals (she saw her first alligator on a canoe ride in the Lowcountry swamps yesterday) and of course rich in food influences from the Barbadoes, Spain, France, England and Africa. The link with macarons? Well, at the end of the day, after trying many a local delicacies, it's all about the macarons people, and Sophie asked if I could teach her how to make them. As the good hostess that I am I felt it was necessary to fulfill her wishes..twist my arm right?!

For the second time around I went for another recipe than the one I often use for macarons, and opted not to use the Italian meringue method for the shells. Indeed, this recipe does not require that the egg whites be whipped with a hot sugar syrup, but instead mixed in with the powdered sugar/nuts method. The only reason why I chose this method was that it was over 100 degrees outside and after an afternoon roasting at the beach, we did not feel like standing in front of the stove waiting for the sugar syrup to reach proper temperature. I found this particular one for pistachio in one of my new favorites by a talented French pastry chef, Stephane Glacier, in "Un Amour de Macaron". The filling was a simple chocolate ganache with a hint of ground ginger.We whipped, folded and mixed. We giggled, talked and dipped our fingers in the batter and the ganache. We filled, broke and sampled some...and we packaged half of them in little goodie bags and took some to the neighbors. It's all about Southern hospitality!

Pistachio Macarons, adapted from Stephane Glacier.

Makes 35

225 gr powdered sugar

60 gr almonds

65 gr pistachios

3 egg whites (about 100gr)

green food coloring (optional) (powdered is better)

25 gr granulated sugar

In a food processor, run the nuts and powdered sugar until the nuts are finely ground. Run through a sieve if needed.

Whip the egg whites until foamy, slowly add the granulated sugar, until they are glossy. Add the green food coloring if using.

Slowly fold the nut/sugar mixture into the whites with a wide spatula. The mixture should remain shiny and flow easily.

Fill a pastry bag with the batter and pipe small rounds onto parchment lined baking sheets.

Let the macarons rest for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 315 and when they are ready, bake them for 12-15 minutes.

Place the chocolate in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Add the butter and stir with a whisk until smooth. Add the ground ginger. Let cool to room temperature and use as desired.

57
comments:

Your macarons are always so picture perfect! I have just made the chocolate macaron for the first time but found that they cracked and puff-up to a peak in the middle. Even at 140C (280F) in my gas oven, they cracked. Any tips?

Helen, your macarons are simply beautiful, and you've styled them so elegantly. I have never made macarons before, neither have I tried them. I have not seen any selling in Perth but I'm looking forward to trying them in S'pore (next weekend) where I know it's available.

Helen, just when I think you can't possibly come up with a more lovely picture of your gorgeous foods, you do! Those macarons look so delicious that I almost licked my computer screen. I'm loving hearing about your visit with Sophie. Have a wonderful visit.

I know what you mean about having family to visit. We had our 16 year old niece for a summer a couple of years ago and had such a wonderful time with her as she discovered all that France has to offer. Beautiful macarons.

The macarons are so lovely! And what a great time you and Sophie are having together. I'm a southern gal, and I love your blend of French/southern hospitality. I wish I had a French girl living near me who came by with treats like this for me to sample, how wonderful. :-)

Seems like you're having a lot of fun Helen.I'm sure you would've never gone to all those places by yourself :)And how lucky Sophie is to have you mentor her in the art of baking.And not to forget your neighbors who keep getting all the goodies from your kitchen.

Have you ever considered doing a macaron workshop for those of us who would like to go on the other side of the counter for once..? A new pastry shop opened recently in New York claiming to serve macarons, but they were covered in bumps like a contagious disease had hit them. I could not bring myself to try them.BTW yours look lovely as ever.Someday I hope to make a macaron instead of just eating them...

Oooo, i second the call for a macaroon workshop, haha. I have always been scared of making macaroons, as an amateur baker, but have always lusted after them. Pistachio and chocolate would easily be my favorite!

I haven't got a chance to try macaron , but looking at all of those macaron pictures tempted me to make them.Do you mind explaining to me about what kind of almonds that you use in the basic ingredients ? I had to order it from a specialty store but they have two kinds of almonds, one is nut flour -toasted almond; roasted and milled into fine meal, the other one called Nut Flour - Almond; milled from blanched almonds.Thank you for your help.

Hello Helen, I have tried to email you a couple of times but without success (receiving bouncebacks from your address in 'about'). Anyway, I am *attempting* to make some pistachio macarons this weekend for a baby shower. I noticed this recipe French meringue method.

If you were to make pistachio macarons with the Italian method, would you simply just split the almond and pistachio nut component and continue the recipe the same way? Would you suggest any other considerations?

Hi Helen, I made these and they turned out wonderfully. I am writing up the recipe for my blog and just realized that your version does not indicate that the egg white need to be aged. I did age mine overnight because that is what I had done with my first batch of macs. Now I'm wondering if it wasn't necessary for this particular variety. Any insight would be appreciated!

Thanks for the awesome recipe! The macaroons came out perfectly. I let them sit on the counter for about an hour and baked for about 13 minutes. I made the ganache with cardamom instead of ginger, which was delicious! I'll definitely make these again :)